Many Hindus adore the Divine by visiting temples or performing aarti, waving lamps, beating drums, and playing cymbals before a murti (idol). In this insightful article, Pujya Gurudev Anandmurti Gurumaa elucidates that for a yogi, God is not a mere statue. The Divine has no form or name; it is the unchanging, absolute existence. Yogis perform their worship differently—by stilling their mind in meditation and adoring the Atman, the pure and ever-blissful Self. The transformative journey begins with understanding that the bliss you seek is your very nature. Following the required spiritual discipline, one becomes seated within.
Kabir, the great mystic saint, says in one of his bhajans,
“Aarati keejei aatam pooja, prana purush so avar na dooja”
Worship thy true Self—the very source that gives life to this body and mind.
Kabir begins by redefining aarti, the act of ritual worship. True worship, he says, is not offered to an external deity, but to the source of life within. He continues,
“Gyan prakash deep ujiyaaraa, ghat ghat dekho prana piyaaraa”
In this worship, no external lights are used because the light of knowledge shines within. The Beloved resides in every mind and heart.
“Bhaav bhakti kar aur na bhevaa, dayaa svaroope karile seva”
Do this service with great love, devotion and compassion.
Here, Kabir is referring to the purification of the mind. Let the qualities of love, devotion and compassion permeate your mind, for that is how you serve the Self.
“Sat sangati mili sabd biraaje, dhokha dvandva bharm sab bhaaje”
Kabir says, associate yourself with Truth—and the one who teaches it is known as the Sadguru. So, be with the Master and then see how deception, suspicion and illusion will leave you. They cannot stay in a mind connected to the Guru.
Kabir then beautifully suggests what to do:
“Kayaa nagar thir hoy bhai, anand roop sakal sukhadai”
Your body-mind is like a city; let this city become still, and you will experience ananda (pure bliss) within.
“Sunya dhyaan sabake man maanaa, tum baitho aatam asthaanaa”
Meditate on shoonya (emptiness or nothingness, involving no mantra or visual). As a result, you get seated in your true Self.
“Kahei kabir jin rahani sambhaari sadaa anand rahate nar naari”
Thus says Kabir, those who live like this will always be in bliss.
Ananda is your true form, not the body. You are the bliss you seek. But the mind is veiled under the influence of maya, illusion. What a paradox, you are ananda, and yet still seek it outside yourself!
You Are the Bliss You Seek
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa loved telling the following story. Once upon a time, the King of Benares had an adorable son. On the son’s fifth birthday, the king called for an artist to paint a portrait. Out of jest, the queen, who had wished for a baby daughter, dressed her son up as a girl. The male hormones had not begun to play, and he looked like a bewitching princess, wearing a veil, jewellery and makeup. Years went by, and the painting was kept in the store.
Years later, when the prince had turned sixteen, he entered the store. He stumbled upon the portrait and was enchanted—he fell in love. He would periodically go to the store and sit by that princess. He lost his appetite and sleep and would sigh repeatedly.
His parents, worried about their son’s condition, asked his close friend to find out what saddened him. The prince thus confessed to his friend that he was in love and took him to the store. When seeing the portrait, the friend, too, was startled, “My god, what a beauty! Has she said yes to you? Would you mind if I meet her too—maybe she likes me more?” The prince was enraged and slapped him, and they started punching one another. The queen, alarmed by the noise, rushed to the spot and asked them to explain. The friend quickly told her, “Oh, queen, your son is in love. He has a portrait of this princess, but he doesn’t know where she is or how he can meet her.” The queen asked what portrait he meant, so they showed her.
The prince said, “Now my secret is out. I’m only going to marry her, and I’m hellbent. Until I see her, I won’t do anything.” The queen laughed and roared. Embracing her son, she said, “Oh my foolish boy, it’s none other than you! This picture is of you when you were dressed as a girl, but beneath this clothing, it is you.” The prince was shocked. He said, “I’m in love with myself—how crazy is that?”
You are seeking ananda, yet like the prince in the story, you don’t realise that the one you long for is yourself!
The solution to this paradox lies in exploring the successive stages of meditativeness. In deep meditation, the mind is still yet fully conscious. Yoga means to bring this restless “monkey mind” to a standstill, making it quiet and stable. Once this happens, the One closest to the mind will get reflected in the still waters of your mind. Just remain free of thoughts, feelings and memories—you don’t have to do anything else. This is easier said than done, though.
Why Meditation Seems Difficult
You’re so used to always doing something that it seems like a punishment if you are told, “Don’t do anything”. Your mind is always thinking, planning and making strategies. At one time, people used to carry gadgets called organisers until they became part of the mobile phone. But the actual organiser is not a gadget, it is your mind. You can switch off the phone, but you don’t know how to switch off your mind. Even when you are idle, your mind is thinking so much.
The mind and body become so exhausted from constant activity and thought that as soon as there is a little relaxation, you become drowsy. It comes so gently, and your mind is smart—one part of it thinks, “I’m meditating beautifully today”, whereas the conscious levels will doze off. The inertia can be so strong that sometimes even people sitting in a satsang doze with their eyes open. In yoga, it is considered the biggest obstacle for a sadhak that sleep takes over whenever the mind becomes calm.
The third difficulty is that you have no idea how to meditate on Parabrahman, the absolute existence. Usually, our eyes go outward to see something, but remember, God has neither form nor shape. People are bamboozled when told to meditate on God—what to do?
Religions that believe in incarnation often advocate visualising an image of a chosen deity. For a Hindu, it may be Krishna, Rama or Shiva. Sikhs do not ascribe to incarnation, but instead may focus on a picture of Guru Nanak or use the mantra Waheguru. But every word is a formation of letters, which have shape and form. Traditionalists and conservatives might have a heart attack when they hear this, but meditating on Waheguru or Om is not meditating on God.
Shiva Netra Sadhana: A Powerful Yogic Technique
Therefore, our Rishis gave methods where no shape, form or mantra is needed, and you use your body as a tool to bring quietude to the mind. One such technique, for example, involves focusing on the forehead between the eyebrows, the bhrumadhya—a powerful system. This points to the spot of the subtle agya chakra, which is referred to as “Shiva’s third eye” or “eye of wisdom”. It is a very sensitive point in your body. If you continue practising this method properly and continuously, you will feel strong sensations at the forehead, like waves of electric impulses. You would feel these pulses running from your forehead to your toes, spine and head.
These techniques help focus your mind and gradually lead it into a state of meditation, or dhyana.
From Dhyana to Samadhi
Perception requires three entities – the knower, the process of knowing, and the known. In Sanskrit, they are called gyata, gyana and gyeya. The mind (gyata) sees an object (gyeya) through the medium of the eyes (gyana), and similarly with all other senses. And behind the mind is you.
In the state of meditation, these three still appear as separate entities. When the knower (mind) is involved, then it is meditation. But a point comes when this triad of knower, knowing and known merges. That state, called nirvikalpa samadhi, is free of mental modifications. When there is no mind, the senses cannot work. Without senses, there is no knowledge of the external world.
Don’t try to jump straight into samadhi; it is not possible. The beginning and the way is through meditation. Meditation is clipping the wings of your mind—without this, the bird keeps flying aimlessly.
In the process, the meditator’s mind undergoes changes. It becomes more focused, precise and sharp. If you wish to become intelligent, then meditation is the way! The mind loves being calm, which can happen when no strings are pulled. Being in that silent state is the death of the mind. Yogis and Vedantins practice this technique without shape, form or mantra. It begins with focusing on a single point and eventually leads to the knower of this mind, the Atman.
Kabir says, let us perform this aarti of the Atman—the true, ever-blissful Self. Burning lamps and singing songs is easy, but internalising the senses and mind and lighting the lamp of knowledge are indeed difficult. Once accomplished, the worship of the Self begins to happen.
